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Day Planner

Behind the bar at Positive Pie, large decanters display citrusvodka, jalapeno tequila, and vanilla bourbon. None of the Tuesday afternoon regulars give them a second look.

It’s almost the end of July. Let out—at long last—from summer school, an hour’s drive from home, and with no one waiting there to celebrate his return, he stops in for a couple slices of pepperoni and a Switchback or two (or three) to wash them down.

It’s cool inside and dark, and even at the bar’s quieter end things are hopping: a brisk trade in pies-to-go, two mute screens tuned to sports and news and weather, the jukebox, (blasting, whether anyone listens or not) and three off-duty barmaids haggling loudly over who will get the Saturday evening shift.

He tries to make a weekend plan himself, but all he can come up with is citrus vodka screwdrivers, a fiery tequila sunrise, and maybe a nightcap: bourbon, vanilla, on the rocks.